Urging sanctuaries for those circus animals who have already been captured and no longer know how to live in the wild, Moreno points to why he's standing there in the first place. "Since animals have no voice, what are they supposed to do?"

Moreno says that when it comes to using animals for shows, "there is no excuse ... The world is showing you there is no excuse."

While there's still so far to go for animals in this world, Moreno holds a steadfast faith in the capacity for companies like Ringling Bros. to change. "There is no way this is sliding," Moreno says. "Not on my watch, not on our watch, not on the whole world's watch."